What we loved about 2011

From humble pies to mosh-pit injuries, the past year was anything but boring

Here are a few—OK, a lot—of our favorite things about 2011.

Food critic Mike Sula was among the privileged few to score a seat at all three iterations of Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas's genre-shifting Next—and ventured off the beaten track for more modest (but no less delectable) fare, such as the humble pies of Bridgeport's Pleasant House Bakery.

Culture editor Tony Adler, in determining the year's top ten plays, reached the realization that 2011 left him "overwhelmed by actors and acting" (that's a good thing) and delivered a comedy "exceptional enough to qualify as a masterpiece." And we have not one but two top-ten movie lists, one from film critic Ben Sachs (who chose an "urgent work of art" as his favorite film of 2011) and one from film editor J.R. Jones (we think you'll be more than a little surprised by his number-two pick).